places to visit

Athirappilly Falls

Athirappilly is famous among tourists. Athirappilly Falls is
one of the best places to visit in Kerala. Another popular
waterfall to visit is the Vazhachal Falls. Athirappilly Falls
is a part of Chalakudy River and it is approximately 80 feet
in height. Athirappilly is easily reachable from Chalakudy by
taking a vehicle for rent l. roper precautions are taken on
site to prevent mishaps while swimming and a police camp is
always positioned there.

Gruruvayur Elephant Race

The Gruruvayur Utsavam begins with Aanayottam, starting from
Manjulal and ending at the flag staff. Religiously, Utsavam
begins with the giving of koora (cloth) and pavithram (ring
made of kusa grass) to the Tantri. In ancient times, the
permission for the festival was taken from Pura koyma ,
Vanneri Nambidi and Kantiyur Pattar. The elephants run from
Manjulal, (the banyan tree half a kilometer away from the
eastern entrance to the temple) enter the temple, take 7
rounds and touch

Guruvayur Elephant Sanctuary

The Devaswom maintains a unique elephant sanctuary, the only
one of its kind in the World. It has 51 elephants now. These
jumbos are the offerings of the devotees to the Lord. A large
number of pilgrims and tourists visit this fascinating spot
every day. In this vast compound, there are road facilities
for pilgrims and tourists to go around. The present elephant
sanctuary is in Punnathur Kotta about 3 kms north of Guruvayur
temple.

Chettuva Backwater Boating

At night reflections of their little lamps cross each other
drawing endless ephemeral images. A hanging bridge, floating
restaurant, swimming pool, yoga centre and jogging track are
at your disposal. In the evening you can row yourself in a
country boat past the mangroves to the surrounding villages or
with go fishing with fishing rods or try out the Chinese
fishing net. A luxurious three bedroom Kashmiri house boat
build with the scented Devdar wood and a two bedroom Kerala
house boat are also available

Chavakkad Beach

Chavakkad Beach is very popular tourist area and shooting
location. Whole part of pilgrims of Guruvayur visits.The
beaches at Chavakkad present an awesome sight.

Sakthan Palace Thrissur

Actual name of Sakthan Thampuran was Raja Rama Varma
(1751-1805). He was a king of Cochin and his palace was in
Thrissur, central Kerala, south India. Thrissur is the
cultural capital of Kerala and Sakthan Thampuran is the very
architect of Thrissur.Thrissur Pooram was introduced by him.
His palace is located in the heart of Thrissur town and has
several well-preserved materials and galleries. The palace is
usually known as Vadakkekara Palace, it was reconstructed in
Kerala-Dutch style in 1795.

Kerala Kalamandalam

Kerala Kalamandalam is a major center for learning Indian
Performing Arts especially those that developed in the Indian
state of Kerala. It is situated in the village of
Cheruthuruthy in Thrissur district near the banks of
Bharathapuzha River. It was founded in 1930 by late poet
Vallathol Narayana Menon and Manakkulam Mukunda Raja.
Kalamandalam imparts training in classical dance and theater
forms Kathakali, Mohiniyattam, Kudiyattam, Thullal, Kuchipudi,
Bharatanatyam, NangiarKoothu, and traditional orchestra
Panchavadyam. Training is also given in various percussion
instruments like Chenda,Maddalam,and Mizhavu. Kalamandalam
follows the Gurukula system of education, the ancient Indian
education system. The institution awards noted performers with
awards. Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar has been the only
recipient of its Suvarna Mudra (gold medal) so far

Palayur Church

In 52 A.D. Thomas Didaemus, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus
Christ. is believed to have landed at Musiris (Cranganore) in
Kerala. He made his first converts both Jews and Hindus at
Palayur a town now in Trichur district, Kerala. There he built
a small church with an altar, which he consecrated. This is
supposed to be the oldest church in India. St. Thomas later
moved to the east coast.And settled in Madras (now Chennai) in
64 A.D. after having travelled all the way to China. Back in
Chennai the apostle is said to have stayed at what was then a
village where the present zone of Malaprop is located

Thrissur Pooram

Thrissur Pooram is the most colorful temple festival of
Kerala. Thrissur Pooram attracts large masses of devotees and
spectators from all parts of the State and even outside.
Celebrated in Medom (April-May) it consists of processions of
richly caparisoned elephants from various neighboring temples
to the Vadakumnathan temple, Thrissur. The most impressive
processions are those from the Krishna Temple at Thiruvambadi
and the Devi Temple at Paramekkavu which is quite a
significantevent for its devotees.